26.01.2007

Manitou revenues rise 14.5%

Telehandler and aerial lift manufacturer Manitou has announced revenues for 2006 of €1.128 billion an increase of 14.5 percent on 2005.

The growth trend picked up towards year end with the third quarter rising by 18 percent and the fourth quarter by over 21 percent.

In its home market of France sales rose by 3.4 percent, while the increase in other EU countries was almost 22 percent. Topped only by the rest of the world where revenues jumped by over 24 percent.

The company says that growth was particularly good in Germany, Benelux, Spain, Italy and central/eastern Europe.

The order book at the end of the year is some 30 percent higher than at the end of 2005 with over 10 weeks worth of orders at current levels.

Manitou says that its key objectives for 2007 are:

1. To consolidate its position as world leader in rough
terrain forklift-trucks.

2. To expand its share of the access market

3. To speed up the rate of expansion into the industrial forklift-truck and warehouse truck sectors,

4. To complete the re-organisation programmes that it set in motion over the past two years.

The company is forecasting growth for 2007 in the region of 10 percent.

Vertikal Comment

Manitou has had a very good second half after a shaky start to the year, it has maintained its position in the telehandler market in the face of strong competition and managed its best year so far in access, carving out some substantial growth in the articulated boom market.

If it is to continue to make gains in the aerial lift market it will need to expand its range at a faster pace. Its rough terrain booms are now well respected and appreciated. The subtle changes it has made in the way it sells to access rental companies in some markets is also paying off.

In 2007 it will start to ship its new telescopic scissor lift, the 15TP, this looks like a very interesting machine that will take it into some new fleets, however at best it will be a high volume niche product.

Manitou needs its new electric boom models to take off and then decide if it wants to push into the smaller scissor lift market, if so it will need to find a way to make them competitively. Alternatively it needs to consider straight booms or larger articulated models.

Until its range is fleshed out, Manitou will find it hard to maintain its recent growth levels in the access market.

When it comes to telehandlers it has different type of fight on its hands, with JCB determined now to seize market leadership while JLG with its own brand and its CAT relationship is also out to build its share of market in Europe.

As if this is not enough Genie/Terex, Merlo and Dieci are not content to rest on their laurels and are also looking for double digit growth. Manitou has not broken out its sales by product line so we do not know how much growth it saw in telehandler sales, it will have done well to have kept pace with the other major players.

Manitou will need to keep on its toes in Europe and ideally take market share from JCB in markets such as the UK while expanding against JLG in the Americas.

The company certainly benefits from a strong distribution network which it has worked hard to keep strong when it looked as though the market was moving towards direct sales. With that trend showing signs of reversing it could be a beneficiary.

With a good start to 2007, Manitou should have no problems to exceed €1.3 billion and grow at a faster pace than it did in 2006.